Doc Martin: Brotherly Love
by parkernathan
Summary: A series of stories introducing Doc Martin's long lost brother to the village of Portwenn. Discuss the story at: /forum/Doc-Martin-FanFiction-Discussions-parkernathan/185731/. Series Complete: Expect a "Prequel", "Christmas Special", and future stories though!
1. Brotherly Love

It is another beautiful summer in the village of Portwenn, and arriving into the bustling village is a surprise that will turn Doc Martin's world upside down: the arrival of his long lost brother. However, like any good Portwenn mystery, neither Martin nor his long lost brother have any clue they are actually related (although it becomes rather obvious shortly after his brother's arrival into town).

Doc Martin's brother is Dr. Nathaniel "Nathan" Parker, a university lecturer from Manchester with a Welsh PhD, who becomes the new head master for the Portwenn School, taking over Lousia's responsibilities who is now committed to raising James Henry as a happy (or unhappy, as one will soon find out!) homemaker. Nathan moves to Portwenn after leaving university lecturing life due to the fact that he has been suffering from a medical condition causing him to "pass out" during his lengthy lectures at the University of Manchester. Doctors in Manchester are not 100% sure of the cause of his "passing out", so they recommend he simply re-locates to a smaller, quieter, slower pace of life that can be found nowhere else but of course, Portwenn.

Doc Martin and Nathan first meet when they accidentally literally "run into" each other. Nathan is busy griping to a colleague on his cell phone about his relocation to Portwenn, when Martin comes running around the corner with his briefcase on the way to an emergency and runs smack into Nathan. Nathan, irritated at the incident, yells at Martin, "Hey, Watch where you're going!". Both exchange the identical disgruntled glance at each other which would cause onlookers to not only crack up laughing at the exchange, but also to begin to sense that there is somewhat of an interesting resemblance and connection between the two.

Nathan, "Dr. Parker" , adorned in a top notch "Saville Road" suit with a handmade silk tie and matching braces, polished handcrafted leather shoes, and outfitted with a state of the art iPhone, iPad, MacBook Pro, Apple Watch, and tortoise colored glasses, is not at all thrilled about his "downgrade" from his lofty academic career in a bustling and technologically advanced city to re-locate to such a small village and "simple" job as a village school head master, and he makes his reservations clear as he is relocating to Portwenn. He shows the same blunt, grumpy disposition Doc Martin showed upon his arrival into Portwenn, and he manages to "tick off" the entire village shortly upon his arrival into Portwenn. When visiting the Chemist, he shows Mrs. Tischell the same cold treatment Doc Martin has continually shown her, which she finds rather intriguing about him, and his first remark upon meeting Bert and Al at Large Restaurant is a blunt, "What is this, Mutt and Jeff?". He is also an extremely finicky eater, not touching shellfish or red meat and only wanting chicken, turkey, lean fish, and vegetables, stating that the rest of it is all "nasty". Another issue with Nathan's eating habits is that he seems to go extended periods of time without eating a decent meal, engaging himself in lengthy periods of work without stopping to break and eat, saying that he has "no time to indulge in physical food when there's people needing food for their minds" (education). He seems at his best stuck behind a desk involved in academic research for hours at a time. His unhealthy skipping of meals seems to catch up with him rather quickly.

What irritates Nathan most about Portwenn is the fact that the villagers do not seem to "respect" his title of him holding a doctorate degree clearly enough. He becomes increasingly frustrated and irritated when the town continues to refer to him as "Mr. Parker", and he is quick to correct them with what will become his famous catch phrase around town, "That's Dr. Parker. I have a PhD". The village also begins using his famous catch phrase as an attempt to poke fun and mockery at him (except for the ones that respond "A Ph What?"), frustrating and infuriating him even further.

Nathan is even approached by PC Penhale while around town, with PC Penhale telling Nathan that the town has not been pleased with the way he has been treating people, and that he needs to show a little more kindness to the villagers. Nathan responds with a blunt: "Are my actions a criminal matter?" PC Penhale responds with "Well, no". Nathan responds with: "Then it's not your jurisdiction. Being an (insert cough cough word here) isn't a crime".

One interesting tidbit about Nathan's first arrival into Portwenn. He never learns Martin, Lousia, or Ruth's surname at first, which turns out to be a good thing for now (there is excitement in why later). He hears someone refer to Martin as "Doc Martin", so he naturally assumes Martin's surname is actually "Dr. Martin". Martin also discovers later on the fact that they refer to him as "Doc Martin" actually might not be a bad thing after all.

Meanwhile, Louisa is "settling down" to the "happy (or should I say unhappy!) homemaker" life raising James Henry and being the "model wife". She reads some articles in "Today's Homemaker" magazine and tries to put some of the suggestions into practice . She burns supper and makes a complete mess in the kitchen (and all over her brand new outfit she wanted to "impress" Martin with) with her rice boiling over. Her vacuum cleaner bag explodes and sends dust flying through the upstairs. And through it all, James Henry cannot seem to quit crying long enough for Louisa to complete her house chores. Nathan drops by the back of Martin's office near the kitchen to pick up some paperwork from Louisa for his new position as the school's head master, where he sees Louisa in a mess, and James Henry crying. Although Nathan's extremely blunt and grumpy as an individual, he tends to show a soft spot toward James Henry and assists Louisa in comforting down James Henry so he stops crying. He may not be able to stand much of the Portwenn village, yet there is a little connection between James Henry and Nathan. Louisa even jokingly refers Nathan to James Henry as "Uncle Nathan", which seems to not set too well with Nathan.

Nathan also gets a chance to meet Ruth, and as Ruth sits and analyzes Nathan's actions (as any good psychiatrist does), she begins to sense something about him. She recalls a long lost family secret her brother told her years ago about the time he spent apart from his wife while they were separated. She fears that family secret may have just arrived in Portwenn.


	2. Hypoglycemia

Martin pours himself a cup of tea and is about to break open a sugar packet to dump into his tea when Morwenna summons him of a patient who has arrived in his office, causing him to stick the unopened sugar packet in his coat pocket, a hint of something to come later on.

Martin's patient is an elderly woman (85 to be exact) by the name of Virginia who owns a chicken farm out by Joan's old house. Her worn face comes into his office, where she simply stares at Martin for a moment. Martin asks her to explain her problem to him. She responds, "I've got busted intestines!" Martin responds "You do not". Virginia: "Don't you tell me what I've got and what I ain't got! I've had one of them things run up me in the hospital and them doctor's told me my intestines, they's busted! I've got busted intestines!" Martin: "If your intestines had burst, you'd be dead". Virginia: "Well then I've made it alive through my busted intestines!". Martin proceeds to examine her and runs some tests and states he will have some tests results for her later, but she does NOT have "busted (er, burst) intestines". She responds "I do too."

Meanwhile, Nathan is managing to "tick off" the entire Portwenn School at his new position of school head master. He could care less what teachers or students he insults, and he finds his new position at Portwenn School extremely frustrating. Their technology systems, school plans and curriculum platform, and even bathrooms are "behind the times" for a cutting edge, educated PhD like Nathan, and he is seen griping over every little thing that happens to go wrong, frequently eyeballing a troublesome piece of technology, or even the bathroom faucet (when he lathers his hands up with soap and no water comes out!), and uttering which could become his second most widely used catchphrase in Portwenn, "be difficult". Nathan also happens to be an excessive clean freak and excessive organizer, frequently washing his hands and excessively organizing his office, as well as the school in general. Louisa visits the school to see how Nathan is getting on as the new head master, and he manages to get into an argument with Louisa, prompting her to utter the phrase "If I didn't know any better, I would say you're Doc Martin's brother!". Nathan infuriatingly tells Louisa to get out of his office.

As Louisa leaves the school, she sees Nathan get into a confrontation with a dog who tries to "enter" the Portwenn school, watching Nathan kick the dog and yell "get out, go away, you stupid animal". Ruth happens to catch a glimpse of Nathan's actions as well, heightening her suspicions about who Nathan could be.

Meanwhile, a new Portwenn resident from the states by the name of Janie Donovan with a heavy Southern US accent (she is from Texas, that will be so important to know later) comes speeding into Portwenn. PC Penhale watches a car come flying into Portwenn, and he goes after the "offender" in his police vehicle with lights flashing, the siren going, the works. Once he pulls over the "offender", "tough" PC Penhale gets out of his vehicle and demands the "speeder" to "exit the vehicle immediately". Out pops Janie, dressed to kill in a "sexy" outfit. Her "southern charm" is "love at first sight" for PC Penhale, and he totally melts in front of her after she gets out of her car. PC Penhale stutters and fumbles through the entire conversation. Janie does most of the talking for both her and PC Penhale, appealing to PC Penhale by pretending to be ignorant of the fact she was "speeding" or "doing anything wrong", explaining that in the states, she drives down "them big highways in Texas fast" and that she is "not used to these tiny little Portwenn roads". She convinces PC Penhale to issue her a warning instead of a speeding ticket, in which she gets back into her car and flies off, leaving PC Penhale still standing there, too stunned to barely breathe.

Nathan also revisits Large Restaurant, asking for what will become his signature dish request, a "chicken sandwich". Bert and Al simply glance at each other with a blank stare. Nathan goes on to explain it is a "fried or grilled chicken filet on a whole wheat bun". Bert and Al manage to whip together a "chicken sandwich" with some "Cajun seasoning", and surprisingly, Nathan seems pleased by their creation, although his praises come in very short, blunt remarks (of course!). It seems Portwenn's "chicken sandwich" is Large Restaurant's newest menu item, but their menu is about to get even "larger" (no pun intended) coming up.

Virginia's test results come in, and Virginia returns to see Martin. When she enters his office, she asks Martin "So how's my busted intestines?". Martin responds: "You do not have burst intestines". Virginia argues with him for a moment, then Martin shows Virginia her tests results indicating she has a mild issue that can be cleared up with a round of antibiotics. Virginia then responds "So I ain't got busted intestines after all?" Martin responds with "No". Martin is writing up Virginia's prescription and upon finishing, he is interrupted with an emergency call at the school…"Dr. Parker has passed out".

Backing up a bit, at the school, while teaching, Nathan begins to become dizzy and stutter and not be able to think clearly. He then "passes out", causing Martin to rush to the school in order to assist with Nathan's medical needs. Martin feels of Nathan and mentions to bystanders that he is clammy and sweaty and that he is suffering from a low blood sugar attack (his blood sugar has bottomed out). He dumps the sugar packet from his coat pocket into Nathan's mouth, causing him to quickly regain consciousness. Doc Martin brings Nathan back to his office, questioning him about his medical history and if there is any history of hypoglycemia in his family. Nathan responds that he does not know because he "never really had much of a family". He did not know his father very well (and it shows with his bitter attitude toward him) because his father was embarrassed with him for his arrival stemming from out of wedlock. He never knew his father's family, only that his father was a London surgeon. His mother primarily raised him on her own in Manchester, and he got his PhD at Wales before returning to Manchester to teach at the university. He fulfilled his "family void" by "burying his life in his studies" so he could be one of the finest lecturers and later on full faculty professors at Manchester before his medical condition struck him, causing him to have to relocate to Portwenn to become the new school head master.

Martin proceeds to take an A1C test with Nathan. Nathan becomes queasy then passes out while Martin is drawing his blood. Martin asks if his sugar bottomed out again once Nathan regains consciousness. Nathan responds by stating it did not. He has a "little problem…with blood", which begins to raise a red flag with Martin. Meanwhile, Ruth is at home searching through some of Joan's old photo albums, when she encounters some photographs of a young child who has a striking resemblance to, none other than, Nathan.


	3. Move Right In

Ruth visits Martin at his office and shows Martin and Louisa the pictures she found in Joan's album. Louisa begins to wonder if Nathan somehow could be related to Martin or possibly be his "long lost brother", as Ruth begins to tell what she remembers of a story her brother told her years ago while being separated from his wife. Martin brushes it off as "ridiculous", but deep down, he does have his suspicions that it could be true. Meanwhile, Louisa's lack of homemaking skills continues to be evident in the household as she again burns supper and makes a mess of her attempt at "housekeeping", and it seems there is a slim chance of her "skills" improving anytime soon.

Nathan needs to get settled into his new Portwenn flat, a large, open space upstairs in a historic Portwenn house overlooking the village, with plenty of room for a cutting edge PhD lecturer from Manchester to spread out in and with the historic charm Nathan fully appreciates. Bert, always looking for another way to make an extra bit of cash, tells Nathan that he and Al can handle all of Nathan's moving needs through a brand new division of their restaurant business, "Large Moving". This also includes moving Nathan's priceless antique Bösendorfer grand piano into his den (in which Bert replies "Bösen What?"), which Nathan tells Bert to be "extremely careful with it" as "it's 100 grand" (meaning Nathan paid 100,000 GBP for it). Bert laughing responds "looks like only a single grand to me" (meaning it is only one grand piano, Bert clearly does not understand what Nathan just said), before continuing on, "don't worry, you're in great hands; everything is under control" (I would be worried if I were Nathan right now!). Bert and Al proceed to push the Bösendorfer up an indoor stair case leading to Nathan's upstairs flat, in which it obviously does not fit and gets stuck going up the stairs. The Bösendorfer then slides all the way down the stairs, causing Bert to respond, "That's no good, is it boy". Al looks at him and responds, "Dad, we've got to find a way to carefully get this piano into Doc Nate's flat. It looks expensive". After a moment of pondering, Bert responds with "I've got the perfect plan" (Nathan should be REALLY worried right now…if only he were there to witness the event!).

Meanwhile, PC Penhale and his future girlfriend Janie meet on the road again, this time on different terms. She is taking a drive through the Portwenn countryside when a large steer (with horns!) comes out of nowhere and manages to block the entire road, causing her to slam on her brakes and almost run smack into it! She honks her horn at the steer, trying to convince the steer to clear off the road so she can continue on. The steer does not budge. She calls the Portwenn Police Station, and PC Penhale rushes to her defense helping a "damsel in distress" to come and remove the steer from the road. PC Penhale first tries to coerce the steer to move off of the road, and when Plan A fails, he attempts to waive a small red pocket hankie in the air so the steer will follow him off the road. Plan B also fails, and he tries firing his gun in the air to see if that does the trick. The steer only turns and stares at PC Penhale, and utters a grunting "mmmm". Frightened, PC Penhale jumps into Janie's car, stating he needs to "call for backup". Agitated, Janie gets out of the car, and she is finally able to lead the steer off the road, telling PC Penhale she is using a trick she learned from her grandpa's farm "down in Texas". PC Penhale bids her farewell, and upon coming back into town, he acts as those he "rescued" her from a "vicious animal on the road", although the town knows better about his exaggerations.

Back at Nathan's flat, Bert devises a pulley system that lifts the Bösendorfer up and into Nathan's flat through an upstairs window, and Bert ensures the pulley is "rock solid secure" before lifting up the Bösendorfer (how I wish that were true). The Bösendorfer makes it to the window, and just before Bert and Al help swing it inside, the pulley ropes loosen, and down flies the Bösendorfer with a large crash and "clunk" musical noise. Bert and Al peer over the window at the destruction below.

Meanwhile, Martin is called away to the Portwenn countryside by Virginia (the patient with the "busted intestines"). She said she needs Doc Martin to come to her home to assist her husband, "Buster". Martin mutters "he'd better be dying" and heads to her home. When he gets to her home, Virginia explains that "Buster" needs a bath, and that he is being "stubborn" and refuses to take a bath. Martin responds, "I don't do baths. Does he have a genuine medical problem?". Virginia responds that his "problem" is that he needs to take a bath but refuses to do it. Reluctantly, Martin assists "Buster" into the bathroom, in which "Buster" makes a scene and causes Martin's suit to get covered in water. Buster is finally clean, and Martin leaves their home in a total mess, eager to get back to his office to change into drier clothes.

Nathan swings by his flat on the way to Martin's office to find out the results of his A1C test, and he finds Bert and Al in his upstairs flat, trying to "assemble" the Bösendorfer, which has now smashed into over a thousand pieces, back together. Bert jokes that the Bösendorfer came with a notice that said "some assembly required". Nathan, stunned at the mess before him, screams to Bert and Al "What in the….Get out! Get out! Get out!" Bert and Al run for the door, and Bert turns around and asks "Uh, do you want to pay me for my services now, or do you want me to send you a bill?" Nathan responds "Get out!" and attempts to kick Bert in the rear out of his flat. When Bert and Al get outside, Bert responds "Do you think he took it well?" Al just looks at his dad in disbelief. Nathan, upstairs in his flat, is shown glancing at his destroyed Bösendorfer in total disbelief.

Afterwards, Nathan returns to Martin's office (with Martin finally in drier clothes!) for the results of his A1C test. While Martin is reading the results of the test to Nathan, which confirms that he indeed has hypoglycemia and needs to engage in more regular and frequent meals and brisk activity by strolling around Portwenn more often, Morwenna opens the door and proclaims, "Dr. Ellingham, there's a patient on the phone, what should I tell them?". Nathan turns a whitish color and responds "Is this a twisted joke?". Martin looks at Nathan and says "What is?" Nathan: "Ellingham! Your surname is Ellingham?" Martin: "Yes. What concern is it of yours?" Nathan: "I thought your surname was Martin!" Martin: "That's my first name. My surname is Ellingham." Nathan: "Then why do people in the village refer to you as 'Doc Martin'?" Martin: "I've never understood it. Why does my surname bother you?" Nathan: "My father's surname was Ellingham." Martin: "You said your father was a London surgeon. Was your father's name… Nathan: Christopher Ellingham?" Martin: "Christopher Ellingham was my father!" Nathan: "Christopher Ellingham was my father!." Martin: "Do you know what this means?" Nathan: "What?" Martin: "Christopher Ellingham was my father and your father. We're brothers!" Nathan: "We're brothers?" Martin: "Yes." Nathan: "I see."

When Nathan learns that he is indeed Martin's long lost brother, instead of showing any excitement to the fact that he has just learned he has a long lost brother or long lost family, Nathan simply responds "Is there anything else you need to discuss with me?". Martin responds, "No, but", wanting to learn more about his new found brother but is abruptly cut off by Nathan, who responds "I'll see myself out". Martin watches Nathan leave his office and walk down the same long path he has watched Louisa walk down countless times.


	4. Just Veggie

The following morning, Nathan briskly walks up the path he was seen descending at the end of Chapter 2 entering Doc Martin's office to a reception room bustling with morning patients. Nathan heads straight for Martin's office door when Morwenna and all the patients uproar and proclaim "Hey, you can't go in there, you don't have an appointment!" Nathan bluntly and causally utters "Watch me" as he continues for the door and opens it. He swings open the door to see Martin examining a patient. He tells the patient to "Get out, I have a private matter to discuss with Martin". The patient grumbles the entire time, and Martin is just about to light into Nathan for interrupting him with a "What the bloody heck do you think you're…?" when Nathan cuts in with "I wish to have a DNA test done. Now". Martin responds that he does not really see the point in a DNA test due to the fact that both of them share the same father, and due to the way both of them have such a similar personality, it is obvious to him they are both brothers. Nathan insists, stating that if Martin and he are indeed brothers, we need to "make it official" through a DNA test before either of us "get stuck" with each other as brothers. Martin succumbs, and He and Nathan and take a DNA test, and Martin prepares to submit the samples to a laboratory in a nearby city. Nathan's only request to Martin is that Martin informs him of the test results before anyone else finds out about it. Martin responds with "of course". Nathan then leaves Martin's office to return to the school, again encountering a reception room bustling with now angry patients. He glances over at the patient he interrupted when bursting into Martin's office, and he only utters the monotone phrase "Proceed".

Meanwhile, at Large Restaurant, PC Penhale's "future girlfriend" Janie visits the restaurant for the first time. Her "sassy" attitude toward Bert and Al makes even Nathan's finicky eating habits seem "mild". Even though she is a "southern gal from the great state of Texas", she happens to be none other but…a vegan (yes, you heard that correctly, a "Texas Vegan"). She will not touch any meat, dairy, or animal products, wondering how anyone could be so cruel to "those poor little creatures". Bert and Al once again have to make accommodations to their menu by rolling out a new "animal free line of menu items". Eyeballing the entire conversation between the Large family and his future girlfriend is none other than PC Penhale, who, although he is scarfing down a large piece of meat at the time, is clearly falling for her. Her "Southern charm" and "US sass" appeals to PC Penhale, and it seems PC Penhale is finally in for a little Portwenn romance (if only he can find a way to give up his meats, that is). He quickly covers up his dish and rushes over to assist Janie up from her table, then manages to trip up and make a (literal) mess of the encounter by accidentally knocking Al over who happens to be carrying a large tray containing steaks right to where the mess ends up all over Janie's dress! PC Penhale apologizes and asks if he can do anything else to assist her, in which she replies "no, I think you've done enough already". PC Penhale watches her as she leaves the restaurant and heads back to her place to change.

Doc Martin also encounters a new patient in Portwenn by the name of Pat who simply seems to be "off". During one visit to Martin's office, Pat is overly happy, flighty, and downright nerve rattling to Martin, chattering a hundred miles and hour without an off button (in which Martin repeatedly tells her to "stop talking"). In a later visit, she is sullen, sunken, and snappy at Martin, barking crude remarks at Martin when he asks the her anything. Martin later learns Pat has been abusing prescription pain killers by informing a doctor in another town that she is "constantly in pain", when in reality, her physical pain (as a result of a car accident) has been gone for a long time, and she has simply been using the pain killers to "cope" with life instead. Even Mrs. Tishell suspects something is "off" with Pat when she keeps coming into the chemist to refill her prescription, also displaying the same mood swings to Mrs. Tishell that were shown to Doc Martin. Mrs. Tishell visits Doc Martin later and informs him of her suspicions, in which Doc Martin agrees with her but coldly shows her to the door afterwards (so as not to get Mrs. Tishell on another love fantasy again!).

Martin also encounters Virginia (the patient with the "busted intestines") again in his office, coming in for an annual "physical". After completing the rest of Virginia's "physical", Martin explains to her that she will need to get up on a treadmill and take a physical activity test in order to complete her examination, but if she does not feel that she is up to the endurance test, she can opt out of the test. Virginia responds that she'll "give it a try". Doc Martin is a little worried as Virginia gets up on the treadmill and begins walking, worrying that the endurance test could do her in for being in her mid 80's! She tells Martin that she "likes this thing" and not only passes the test, but actually enjoys it. When Martin tells her that the test is completed and that she can get off of the treadmill, she begs Martin to let her stay on it for a little bit. Martin explains he has more patients to see and that he needs her to get off the treadmill. She gets off the treadmill and tells Martin she enjoyed it and asked Martin if he could prescribe her a treadmill instead of "all them pills I'm taking". Martin responds, "no".

The issue with Pat and her addiction to painkillers comes to a head when she overdoses on pain killers and almost accidentally runs over Janie, which of course PC Penhale intervenes and saves his future girlfriend just in the nick of time, forming an even stronger bond between the two. When Martin hears of the incident, he refuses to allow Pat to obtain any more pain killers, and he suggests she seeks treatment from Ruth about the best drug treatment program she could participate in.

Nathan stops by Martin's office on the way back to his flat to see if the DNA results have arrived yet. Martin states they have not, but they should be in by the morning. James Henry, crying at the time Nathan arrives, is again comforted by "Uncle Nathan", who begins to surface his softer side as he comforts James Henry. He begins to realize just how much he cares for his new found family and states "tomorrow I will know 100% for certain if I am an uncle to this adorable child".


	5. Family Matters

The DNA test results are in, but before Martin has a chance to have Nathan come into his office to give him the good news, nosy Morwenna opens the envelope containing the test results, reads them, then manages to blab the results to a villager where shortly, the entire village knows the truth. As Nathan makes his way to Martin's office, everyone in the village happens to stop him and jokingly laughs at the fact that Nathan is "the doc's brother", with people like Bert responding "we should have known it all along you two were brothers, you are so much alike you and the doc" and Mrs. Tishell stating "so our good doc has a brother, I should have known all along". Nathan, furious at the entire town knowing before him, storms into Martin's office, slams the door, and yells at Martin "What the bloody heck is going on! I thought you were going to keep my test results private until I've had a chance to at least hear them myself first!" Martin explains that Morwenna opened the envelope containing the test results and blabbed the results to the town before Martin even knew what had happened, and that he is "extremely upset" with Morwenna and could terminate her over the breach of privacy. Nathan responds that Martin should not terminate her, and that all in all, he guesses everything is OK, and that at least he, Martin, and even everyone in the village finally "knows the truth".

Meanwhile, PC Penhale visits Janie's flat in Portwenn (her flat is downstairs in the historic house that houses Nathan's flat upstairs), pretending that he visited her flat due to an "emergency police call" that she placed to the Portwenn Police Department. She responds that she did not place a call to the Portwenn Police, and PC Penhale asks her is she sure there are not any "violent criminals" or "vicious steers" trying to get her or anyone trying to "run over her" again. She said there is not. PC Penhale then reaches from behind his back and gives her a set of flowers and a set of vegan granola bars, since he was afraid to get her any chocolates with "milk" or other "animal products" in it. She feels the gesture is sweet, and their romance begins to blossom. PC Penhale asks her out for lunch at Large Restaurant, which she accepts.

Portwenn Radio, finding out about Nathan being Martin's brother, as well as the radio station not having a chance to interview the "new school head master" yet, invites Nathan to speak on Portwenn Radio and discuss how life has been since moving to Portwenn, taking over as the new school head master, as well as what it is like to have Doc Martin as a brother and be an uncle to James Henry. Nathan bluntly and coolly answers all the questions asked him, obvious that he does not like broadcasting his personal life all over Portwenn Radio. He tries to field questions by discussing the importance of an education and how he is ensuring that as the new school's head master, he is doing the finest job possible to ensure the students of Portwenn gain a top notch education. However, Portwenn Radio continues to steer the conversation back onto his personal life of being Doc Martin's brother, which makes for an awkward radio appearance. Martin and Louisa, of course, are listening to the entire conversation, wondering how Nathan can "endure" the "torture" of being on the radio show.

PC Penhale takes Janie out to lunch for a date at Large Restaurant, where he tries to adapt to some of her "vegan dishes", and he finds the dishes extremely difficult to ingest for such a meat eater as he is. He coughs and hacks all through the meal while trying to smooth things over when she looks at him. While he is clearly falling in love with his new girlfriend, he is having a difficult time "falling in love" with her food choices.

Louisa, whose homemaking skills are finally beginning to improve (or so we think), decides to invite Nathan over for a "family dinner" with her, Martin, Ruth, and James Henry in order for Nathan to have some "bonding time" with the family. PC Penhale finds out about the dinner from Louisa when running into Louisa in the market while she is buying some food for the dinner, and he invites himself and his newfound girlfriend to the dinner, thinking it would be a great time to get to interact with her and better adjust to her "vegan lifestyle" in the company of Martin's home. He informs Louisa of her special diet and suggests some dishes Louisa can prepare to accommodate her. Louisa is reluctant about having PC Penhale and his newfound girlfriend over since she really wanted the opportunity to be for Nathan to "bond" with the family, but she reluctantly agrees to accommodate the newly self-invited guests.

Just when Louisa felt that her culinary skills were finally at the point where she could prepare a decent meal for her guests, it seems she still has plenty to learn and makes as large or an even larger mess as she has when she began her "happy homemaker" routine. She makes a disaster out of her dinner, and she calls in the cavalry, none other but Bert himself, to rescue her out of it. Bert manages to come by, and he and Al clean up the mess, and for once in the history of their business, manage to pull off a catering event inside Martin's house that does not turn into a complete disaster (at least for the food, that is). Bert manages to serve Nathan his signature "chicken sandwich", and he serves Janie one of her signature vegan dishes she enjoys from the restaurant. PC Penhale, still trying to adapt to a "vegan lifestyle", continues to eyeball Nathan's luscious chicken sandwich and Martin's fresh fillet of salmon with dill sauce and just wants to reach out and grab both of their plates and scarf down the food. During the dinner, Janie and Louisa seem to hit it off well, with Janie explaining she is the new village hair stylist. Louisa said she is in need of visiting a salon, and Janie replies that she should just "come right on in tomorrow and I'll fix you right up and make you look gorgeous, honey!".

The dinner goes downhill even further when Janie pops open a bottle of wine and decides to make a toast to the event. Martin explains he does not drink, Ruth sides with Martin, but the one out of the group who is the most vocal against wine consumption is Nathan. He does not understand how a person can have an issue with eating animal products such as a delicious chicken sandwich while at the same time "getting drunk" by downing glass after glass of wine. Janie snaps back at Nathan and points out some of his own finicky eating habits with red meat and shellfish. Nathan then turns to Louisa, also enjoying a couple glasses of wine through the dinner, wonders why Louisa is consuming so much alcohol when she needs to keep her "entire brain function in tact so she can ensure she is able to do her duty as a parent to James Henry". Louisa responds that her brain function is in tact and that a glass or two of wine will not cause her to be a neglectful parent to James Henry. Nathan persists that Louisa is "impairing her mental faculty through her alcohol consumption and should consider forgoing it if she wants to have her full wits about her when parenting James Henry". Louisa storms away from the dinner blurting out "Ugh! Now I have two of them to deal with!" (meaning Martin and Nathan resemble each other so much it is as if she is almost stuck with "two Martins"). Janie downs another glass of wine, smarting back off to Nathan by saying to him, "that went well". Nathan responds with a blunt "shut up". Ruth calmly but coolly suggests that PC Penhale and his girlfriend leave.

After PC Penhale and Janie leave, Martin wonders if he should go and console Louisa. Ruth decides it would be better if she did it. Ruth goes and consoles Louisa and states that Nathan only cares about James Henry, and due to the fact that he is a "university lecturer type" with the same personality as Martin, obviously that is how Nathan is going to react to situations "of that scale", and Louisa just needs to recognize him for who he truly is, Martin's brother.

Meanwhile, Martin and Nathan sit around the table, and Nathan asks Martin if he is upset with him by the way he reacted during the meal. Martin responds "of course not, it's something I would have done myself", and lets Nathan know crystal clear, "I can tell you are definitely my brother. I am going to have to get used to having another of myself around Portwenn". Louisa and Ruth come into the room with James Henry, and again, "Uncle Nathan" and his soft spot surfaces in front of James Henry. James Henry continues to be a bit fussy, and Nathan heads over to an upright piano over in Martin's house and begins to play a soothing melody on the piano, which seems to delight James Henry and consoles him. Nathan makes a promise to James Henry to be "the best uncle I can be for you".


	6. You Drive Me Up A Wall

Nathan visits Martin's office, and surprisingly, there are not any patients waiting at the moment, so Nathan is able to walk right in and speak to Martin in person immediately. Nathan shows Martin a map of a nearby town with a vast research library he needs to periodically visit to gain research he can use in his classes. There is also going to be an upcoming teacher's conference with other PhD scholars there that he wishes to attend. He asks Martin what is the easiest way to get there, by train or by public transit. Martin responds that it is a difficult to get to area of Cornwall where trains and public transit cannot run. The only way to get there is by car, by driving. Nathan begins to look queasy and mutters "By car? By driving? That won't work". When Martin asks "Why not?", Nathan responds, "I don't drive". Martin asks "Why don't you drive? You don't have a license"? Nathan responds "That's part of it." He then goes onto explain he also has a "problem" when it comes to driving. Martin asks Nathan if he has a fear, a "phobia" of driving. Nathan responds that "you could call it that". Martin suggests Nathan visit Ruth for some counseling on how to avoid his "driving phobia".

Meanwhile, Louisa visits the hair salon where Janie tells her she will give her "the works" and that when she is done with Louisa, she will look "downright glamorous" and "you won't even recognize yourself, honey!" (Got that right!). She manages to totally ruin Louisa's hair. Louisa shows Martin her ruined hairstyle and asks him to be honest with her at how it looks. He responds that she looks "dreadful". Nathan manages to capture a glimpse of Louisa's new hair and asks her "What happened to you?". When Louisa explains what has happened to her hair and that she is aware it looks awful, Nathan chalks it up to being what happens when you allow your hair to be styled by "a flush". Louisa corrects Nathan and says that the term is "a lush", and that she does not consider Janie a total drunk, but before she can continue on her argument, she begins to sob in Martin's arms over how she looks.

Ruth counsels Nathan on his "driving phobia" and offers some suggestions to overcome it. She finds out he once had the opportunity to drive a train full of passengers on it once during a railway excursion, and he found the opportunity "enjoyable". Ruth responds by telling Nathan to picture himself in a railway train, only smaller and without other passengers onboard, and instead of a railway track, it is replaced with a nice, smooth asphalt road. She asks how Nathan feels. He responds by saying "The train didn't have a steering wheel! I'm going to crash this thing!" and he begins to become nervous. Ruth looks over at Martin and says, "There's only one solution to this problem. You are going to have to teach Nathan to drive". Martin responds, "Me!". Ruth responds "Yes, but I'll be in the car with you both".

Meanwhile, PC Penhale visits his girlfriend at the salon, where she manages to ruin his hair as badly as she ruined Louisa's. PC Penhale is totally embarrassed of the way she managed to ruin his hair, but he pretends to like it and manages to go around town with his embarrassing new hair style just so he does not hurt Janie's feelings.

Nathan, Ruth, and Martin get in Martin's car on the rural road going out to Joan's old house, and Martin walks Nathan through how to get a feel for the car and some basic driving tips, and he informs Nathan "You have a PhD. You passed your written driving exam. Learning to drive a car is far easier." Nathan begins driving, not doing too well at first, making hard stops, jolting Martin and Ruth around, speeding up too fast and coming to a screeching halt. The worst happens when Nathan drives the car up a hill and stops. Martin asks Nathan "Where is your foot?" Nathan lifts his leg up in his seat and responds "Right here." Martin frantically responds "It should be on the brake! It should be on the brake!" while the car begins to slide backward in reverse.

Nathan (finally) makes it to Joan's old house, running over a chicken in the process. He looks over at Ruth and responds, "Well, I took care of dinner tonight". Ruth simply rolls her eyes. They all get out of the car and stretch, and Martin and Ruth look at each other and both exclaim "We need backup".

That evening, it is "western night" at Large Restaurant, where Bert and Al wear "US style western gear" and encourage everyone in the village to do the same when attending that evening. Louisa manages to adjust her hair to where it is "presentable" and asks Martin, Ruth, and Nathan if they want to go. Ruth says she will go just so she can have a decent meal and use the opportunity to "analyze the village in case I wish to write a second book", but Nathan does not seem interested in going, and neither does Martin. Louisa convinces Martin to encourage Nathan go to so he can socially interact with the village as Martin's brother and allow the village to get to know him better. Louisa and James Henry dress up in "western wear", but Ruth says she would rather look "professional", Martin says he will go "in a suit", and Nathan simply goes in his suit without a jacket showing his braces (suspenders for US readers), stating that is "as western as he will ever get". They show up at Large Restaurant and are met by PC Penhale and his girlfriend, with PC Penhale totally decked out in a "sheriff's outfit", complete with a western hat, only to briefly remove it long enough so Martin can glance at him and remark "I take it your girlfriend did that" (meaning what Janie did to his hair) which he nods. PC Penhale manages to remove his gun from his holster, twirl it, and have it accidentally go off right into Bert's rear! Due to the incident, Bert is unable to sit down for the rest of the evening and tells Doc Martin he will be in first thing in the morning to have the bullet removed. Janie is also decked out in "western wear" having fun at the event and consuming too much wine. The musician who Bert hired for the event phones the restaurant stating that he has broken down in a nearby village and will not be making it to the event, leading Nathan to play the piano at the event while people enjoy the music, dance, and eat. All Nathan knows how to play are some classic gospel songs he learned in church, but his "gospel piano" music is "alive" enough where the entire village enjoys it, and the event goes on.

The next day, Bert comes into Martin's office to have the bullet removed, and seemed to have enjoyed one too many dishes of refried beans the previous night while Martin is extracting the bullet. Once Martin is finished with Bert, he visits a local mechanic's garage where Sid Carter, Portwenn's "retro eccentric" mechanic dressed in period clothing awaits Doc Martin. Martin asks Sid if he would be willing to loan him a smaller car, as well as teach his brother to drive. Sid responds he would be happy to do anything for the town doc and the new school head master, and tells Martin to "just leave it with me, mate". Sid pulls up at the school about closing time in a British Racing Green Mini Cooper (what else?), finishes off a smoke, and tells Nathan to "get in, mate, and the doc and I are going to turn you into a driving pro". Sid swings by Martin's office, picks up Martin and Ruth who are waiting, and again takes Nathan back to the rural road on the way to Joan's old house.

Sid carefully goes over with Nathan the various workings of the car and says "OK mate, you think you've got it down now". Nathan mutters "stop calling me mate" and Sid responds "sorry Nate". Nathan glares at Sid. Despite Nathan's grumpy personality coupled with his driving phobia, Sid manages to teach Nathan how to drive, and Nathan finally starts to drive smoothly with Sid leaning back in his seat, laughing and saying "you've cracked it, Doc Nate, you've cracked it". Nathan just looks at him and drives on, but he does seem a bit more confident as he drives back to the mechanic's garage.


	7. Heal Thyself

Nathan heads to a nearby town to take the driving portion of his driving examination. His driving examination instructor is an Irishman by the name of "Tom" (Know of another "Tom" that is into cars? Think of another hit British show.) Tom informs Nathan that he is going to be his driving instructor, and with a cheerful smile, he asks Nathan if he has any questions before they get started with the examination. Nathan glares at Tom and responds "Just one. Do you have enough confidence that I can pass this examination without the both of us being killed?" Taken aback by Nathan's response, Tom responds "We shall see, won't we".

Meanwhile, back in Portwenn, one of the most irritating menaces that could befall a doctor arrives into town. A quackish "holistic healer" comes into Portwenn, setting up shop down the road from Martin's office. He explains that Martin's practice is a "business", and that for "real remedies", people need to "forget about the doctor and the chemist and come receive healing holisticly from 'the healer'". Mrs. Tishell takes offense to "the healer", and Doc Martin is down right annoyed by him, yet he manages to steal away some of Martin's patients for a time being stating he can do a better job at "healing them".

Additionally, PC Penhale is beginning to wonder if he can keep up his girlfriend's "vegan lifestyle". He seeks advice from Ruth on whether he should continue dating her or quit dating her and go back to eating meat, saying that "the decision between dating her and eating meat is a bit of a toughy". Ruth responds with a blunt question and answer "Who do you love more, the woman or food? There's your answer." PC Pinhale has a hard time deciding if he really loves her or food more.

Back at the driving examination, Nathan manages to pass his driving examination (without needing Martin to come to the town to give Nathan and Tom any medical attention). While Nathan's driving starts out rocky at first, once he gets control over the car, the rest of the examination tends to go smoothly, and Tom tells Nathan he has passed his examination and will have his driving license issued to him shortly (it is not certain if Tom simply passed Nathan so he would not have to get back into a car with him or if he felt Nathan really should have passed the examination). Nevertheless, for better or for worse for Cornwall drivers, Nathan is the latest Portwenn resident to be issued a driver's license, and he begins to head back to Portwenn to share with Martin and the rest of his newly found family the good news.

Meanwhile, "the healer" has not only managed to NOT help anyone in Portwenn of their ailments (including Bert, in which he describes a remedy to him that does the complete opposite effect for his ailment), he only makes matters worse by prescribing them all sorts of junk that lands them back in Martin's office, with a frustrated and furious Martin having to perform "double duty" in relieving the town of their ailments, both assisting them with their regular medical issues and undoing the damage done by "the healer".

Nathan gets back into town, discerns the situation going on with "the healer", and decides to go pay "the healer" a visit to give him a piece of his mind, stating that it is up to a "highly educated professional such as myself to knock some sense in this two bit twit". Nathan decides to also bring along Ruth with him just in case she wishes to perform an "professional evaluation" on "the healer" stating "this should be ideal for your second book". Nathan and Ruth make it to his practice, where they find "the healer" "assisting" other people, then he himself slumps over in his practice. Nathan and Ruth call Martin, tell him to get down to "the healer's" practice since something has happened to him and that he needs "real" medical attention.

Martin arrives at his practice, and discovered that he has mixed up for himself a concoction that could prove poisonous and deadly to him, and Martin both administers the antidote in order for him to regain consciousness, as well as administer a solution where he can expel the rest. Mrs. Tishell drops by the practice, hearing of the news, and is in disbelief of the concoction that "the healer" had produced for himself, stating that it is "downright deadly". Martin saves the life of "the healer", and Nathan's "lecturing" personality surfaces, trying to "teach a lesson" to "the healer" about the foolishness of practicing unlicensed medicine. Martin tells Nathan "he has had enough lecturing for the day and has learned his lesson the hard way", and Martin, Ruth, and Nathan ensure "the healer" gets on an ambulance and taken to a hospital in a nearby town for evaluation. Martin tells Nathan and Ruth he is going to attend to the rest of his patients.

Nathan swings by Martin's office on the way back to his flat to check in with James Henry and Louisa and to tell Louisa the good news about passing his driving examination (which was interrupted by the incident with "the healer" earlier). Martin comes into the room, and Louisa gives both Martin and Nathan a large hug, saying she is thankful for having both of them in James Henry's life. Nathan then leaves Martin's office, and both Martin and Louisa, with James Henry in her arms, watch as he descends the road again that leads away from Martin's office toward his flat, and Louisa turns to Martin and asks "Aren't you glad you've gotten to know your long lost brother". Martin responds "Yes", and James Henry has a little smile on his face, as the series ends.


End file.
